The NIH is interested in advancing research to identify common genetic or other factors that influence the prevention, cause, diagnosis, and treatment of autism spectrum disorders. The National Database for Autism Research (NDAR) is a biomedical informatics system and central repository developed by the NIH. NDAR provides a common platform for data collection, retrieval and archiving, while allowing for flexibility in data entry and analysis. The NIH hopes that broad research use of NDAR will accelerate the advancement of research on autism spectrum disorders (ASD)?a series of related brain disorders that affects a person's ability to communicate, relate to others, and interact with his or her surroundings.